On the road to success; New Bedford students beat tough odds

NEW BEDFORD — There are almost 13,000 students enrolled in the city's public schools, and they all have stories to tell — some inspirational, some heartbreaking — about their experiences in life and education.

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By CHARIS ANDERSON

southcoasttoday.com

By CHARIS ANDERSON

Posted Jan. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 15, 2013 at 11:22 AM

By CHARIS ANDERSON

Posted Jan. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 15, 2013 at 11:22 AM

» Social News

NEW BEDFORD — There are almost 13,000 students enrolled in the city's public schools, and they all have stories to tell — some inspirational, some heartbreaking — about their experiences in life and education.

Recently, in order to capture some of those stories, the district launched an essay contest, open to all juniors and seniors, that asked students to share what made them "undroppable."

The question was a spin-off of a social media movement and upcoming documentary film by the same name, which showcases students across the country who are beating the odds and staying in high school to graduation.

"We wanted to come up with another venue where kids could share with us and their peers how resilient they are, how they've overcome their obstacles, how they understand how important education is," said Heather Larkin, the district's assistant superintendent for student services.

Melissa Isidor, a senior at New Bedford High School, won first place in the contest, with Whaling City High senior Michael Gonzalez coming in second and Kalie Brum, a senior at Trinity Day Academy, taking third place.

The students were recognized at a School Committee meeting in December, and all received laptop computers as prizes.

In the winning essay, Melissa wrote about her family's ongoing financial struggles, and the racism she has faced as the daughter of a black man and a white woman.

Despite the challenges in her life, Melissa is an excellent student, ranked near the top of her class at New Bedford High, and an accomplished athlete, competing at the state level for the high school's track team. People see those accomplishments, and the put-together face she presents to the world, and make certain assumptions, according to Melissa.

"Several times people have told, 'You have it all,'" she wrote in her essay. "I simply tell them, 'No, I don't.'"

Melissa said she wanted to enter the essay contest to help other students realize that if they are willing to work for it, there's nothing they can't achieve.

"A lot of students, they think, 'Oh, there's no way I can do well in school. There's no way I can go to college. I can't afford it,'" said Melissa.

She continued later: "If you share with other people who are in the same circumstances as you, then they can learn that there is hope for themselves."

Melissa said something she hoped others would learn from her essay was the importance of making the most of the available resources — and of asking for help.

"You can't make it on your own, I don't think," she said. "I think you need people there helping you along the way. It's partly your initiative to go out and find those people that can help you."

In her third-place essay, Kalie wrote about how an abusive home situation led to her making a number of bad decisions that ultimately resulted in her being taken away from her family.

It wasn't until she transferred out of New Bedford High School into Trinity Day Academy that she started to turn her life around, Kalie wrote in her essay.

"They taught me how to be me without all the extra stuff," she wrote.

Kalie entered the essay contest to show other students that even kids who have been through a lot can overcome their backgrounds if they put their minds to it.

"I want to get myself heard," she said. "All my life, because of what has happened to me, I've been in the shadows. ... I'm done with being in the shadows."

Kalie said it was very difficult for her to write the essay because she had never shared anything that personal with other people before.

But, she continued, she's been supported by a lot of "really great people" recently — her family, the teachers at Trinity Day, the staff at Third Eye, where she does some work — which has helped her in this process.

"Life can be tough, but you can always turn it around no matter what kind of situation you're in," she said.

Both Melissa and Kalie are on track to graduate from high school this June, and both plan to go on to college.

Michael Gonzalez, whose essay took second place in the contest, declined to be interviewed for this story.

Larkin said the district definitely plans to continue the essay contest in future years, and hopefully to expand it to the middle-school grades as well.

"I think the stories we got ... were incredibly powerful, and I think that they can also be used to do some PD, professional development, around just what these kids are doing through," said Larkin.